By Lorenzo Salinas

l.v.salinas@panews.com

 

The old adage “Better safe than sorry” seemed to be especially true as school officials were trained in stopping excessive blood loss at a health center in town.

Golden Triangle Emergency Center partnered with BleedingControl.org to start its “Stop the Bleed” training for faculty and nurses from local school districts. The instructional program is meant to teach individuals first aid and other life-saving techniques during traumatic incidences.

Director of Marketing for GTEC Kari Busch said uncontrolled bleeding from trauma is the leading cause of preventable death in individuals ages 45 and under.

She said the seminars would help prepare school nurses and staff to respond appropriately to a traumatic injury that may be incurred while on school grounds.

“We don’t want to ever have to use it, but if something happens, we want to make sure they’re trained in how to use it,” Busch said.

Several schools have already participated in the seminars, from the Port Arthur school district and Mid County to Hamshire-Fannett.

Busch said the goal for GTEC is to provide a trauma kit for every classroom in Southeast Texas. She estimates there are about 4,500 classrooms.

GTEC has applied for grants in order to try to make that a reality.

“We have physically handed one out to every school in Southeast Texas at the moment,” Busch said. “We haven’t acquired new kits yet, but once we get them we want to make sure the (school’s) staff is trained.”

As part of that training, attendees could expect to learn how to use trauma kits, what to do if one isn’t available, how to apply tourniquets, how to improvise if one isn’t available and how to pack a wound.

“We want people to know this is an option and we want to get everybody trained.”

Additionally, as long as a registered nurse is trained in the course, they could become trainers themselves when they return to their respective schools.

Busch said there was a nurse who attended one of the seminars who had never used a tourniquet in her life.

“She said she was hesitant to come but was really grateful to learn how to use those things,” Busch said.

GTEC hosted its first seminars in August at each of their facilities — Aug. 21 in Beaumont, Aug. 23 in Port Arthur and Aug. 27 in Orange — to time it better with the start of the new school year.

Busch said GTEC plans on hosting a “Stop the Bleed” seminar for the general public once a month.

“It’s education,” Busch said. “We just want safety for our children and the ability to provide that for our community.”